


Fidelius

by HeartSabers



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Battle Injuries, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Injury Recovery, Loss of Virginity, POV Ben Solo, Patronus, Ravenclaw Ben, Rivalry, Serious Injuries, Slytherin Rey, Smut, Virgin Ben Solo, Virgin Kylo Ren, Virgin Rey (Star Wars), matching patronuses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-13 11:44:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21243557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartSabers/pseuds/HeartSabers
Summary: "Fidelius. An immensely complex spell involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find — unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it."*********A Harry Potter AU inspired by @reylo_promptsPrompt: "Harry Potter AU: Rey and Ben are the two best aurors of the Ministry of Magic. They are rivals since Hogwarts, competing with each other for anything. During a mission where they need to work together, Rey discovers that they have the same Patronus."





	1. Lumos

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [赤胆忠心](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21935077) by [Yilialovestaylor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yilialovestaylor/pseuds/Yilialovestaylor)

> Hey! This is a short Halloween fic inspired by @reylo_prompts! Thank you for the inspiration! Harry Potter AUs count as Halloween fics, right? I hope they do, 'cause I can't write spooks to save my life. 
> 
> CW: This fic includes mentions of a serious injury/blood. It isn't too graphic, but please keep that it mind if you decide to keep reading!

The first time he’d seen her eyes, they’d been sparkling in the dark, reflecting the specks of flickering orange light that studded the dark silhouette of the castle. He hadn’t been able to see much else: her robes had been as pitch black as the night around them, and the delicate profile of her face had been cloaked by the darkness, so the litheness of her slender body and the petulant curve of her freckled nose had remained strangers to him. 

The brightness of her eyes had still been enough to make an odd tightness bloom in his chest, though, uncomfortable enough to make him look away. When he’d finally averted his eyes, he’d realized the velvety black surface of the Great Lake had also been studded with warm-toned orbs of light, and, at that moment, something deep within him whispered that he was doomed to see her eyes everywhere. 

Throughout the following years, he’d memorized every single part of her. The way her nose crinkled when she laughed; the way her fanned eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks while she devoured old books under the flickering lights of the library, muttering ancients charms to herself; the way the sun bounced off her chocolate hair every time she darted past him on her broom, throwing him a challenging grin over her shoulder. He’d memorized it all, but, curiously enough, her eyes reflecting the castle’s lights were still the most prominent part of his dreams.

“I don’t like this any more than you do, you know?”

She said it matter-of-factly, offering him a small shrug when his eyes rose to meet hers.

“What?”

“This,” she explained, gesturing to the space between them. “Not exactly my dream mission either, but it would be _exponentially _less unpleasant if you’d stop frowning.”

“I’m not frowning.”

She laughed sarcastically at that, rolling her wand between her fingers as her eyes strayed to the lush green fields flying past them outside the window.

“You’re always frowning. At me, at least.”

Ben swallowed thickly, pressing his lips together and allowing his eyes to stare out the window, too.

They sat across from each other in silence for a long moment, the train rumbling under their feet as it snaked its way through grass and mountains, leaving a trail of white smoke that looked like clouds against the blue sky.

“It’s kinda nostalgic, isn’t it?”

Rey didn’t look at him as she said it, but he turned his head to face her anyway.

“Going back?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, resting her head against the window. Her breath fogged the cold glass as she spoke. “The fields. The scents. The Hogwarts Express. It’s been seven years.” 

“Doesn’t feel like it.”

“No. Feels like it was yesterday,” she agreed. When she looked at him, there was a smile in her eyes. “Can you believe it? Seven years since you failed the N.E.W.T.s.”

“I got _nine_ N.E.W.T.s,” he murmured exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair. “_Nine._”

“Me too,” she said, and now the smile had reached her lips. “Nine N.E.W.T.s, and nine _‘outstanding’s_.”

“Really? I’d _never_ heard you brag about that.”

He was looking out the window again, lips pursed and arms crossed over his chest, but he could still see her smile in his peripheral vision.

“I’ll never get over it, that’s all. The fact that seventh year _Ben Solo _still couldn’t cast a Patronus.”

“I blanked and couldn’t come up with any usable memories,” he said, turning back to face her with a frown. “Will you let that go already?”

Rey raised her hands in surrender, but the smile still lingered around her eyes.

“I mean, you _did _get some silvery fog out of your wand, so...”

“_Rey._”

“Okay, alright. I’ll drop it.”

When she crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking his stance, she didn’t look like she had any intention of dropping it. To her credit, she managed to contain herself for a full minute.

“Exceeds Expectations in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Seriously, Solo, I…”

“Hey, remember that time I beat you to the Snitch even though you were a good fifty feet closer to it?”

“That’s fucked up, you _know _my arm wasn’t fully healed.”

It was his turn to smirk, drinking in the frustration on her face.

“Still got you eliminated.”

“You’re such an ass.”

He shrugged, leaning back on his seat. Outside the window, the sky had started to turn golden.

“You still fly?” she asked, her voice tinted with the edge of something Ben couldn’t quite place.

“Not really. You?”

“Sometimes. When we get together in the summer. You know, Poe, Finn, Rose. The gang.”

“You still hang out with the Gryffindor crew?”

The way she rolled her eyes. It never failed to make his heart skip a beat.

“God, you sound so _condescending_ when you say that.”

“That’s the intention.”

“What’s wrong with being a Gryffindor?” she asked, her eyes slightly narrowed. “Your whole family was in Gryffindor.”

Ben shifted uncomfortably on his seat, shrugging again as he worked his jaw.

“Well, I wasn’t.”

“You weren’t.”

It was uncanny, how vividly he could remember it. He could still see the starry sky above his head and feel the smell of wood, stone and candlewax in his nostrils; could still feel his heart hammering against his ribcage; could still hear whispers of “Skywalker” crawling from mouth to mouth as he waited in line to be sorted.

_The whispers seemed to feed into the deep-seated fears that had haunted his nights for as long as he could remember. Not Slytherin, he chanted inside his head, his palms shaky and damp inside the long sleeves of his robes. Not Slytherin. Not like his grandfather. Gryffindor, like his uncle. Gryffindor, like his mother. Gryffindor was his destiny; what he’d always wanted; what he’d prayed for through sleepless nights studded with nightmares. _

_“Sanders, Rey!” Professor Holdo called, and the girl stumbled forward, her wide eyes brimming with equal parts dread and fascination. The Sorting Hat promptly eclipsed her chocolate hair and her hazel eyes, and he could have sworn his stomach had turned to ice when nothing but silence filled the Great Hall for a full minute. _

_“Slytherin!” the Hat finally yelled, and the girl staggered towards the long table under a shy wave of applause. _

_At that moment, in spite of a thousand sleepless nights haunted by dark cloaked figures, for the first time in eleven years, Ben thought Slytherin didn’t sound like such a bad idea._

_But it was his desire to be in Gryffindor, and his desire to be in Gryffindor alone, that caused his stomach to sink when, after sitting on his head for a long while, the Sorting Hat finally yelled, “Ravenclaw!” _

_He was sure of it. _

“Ben? Are you listening?” Rey’s voice said, pulling his from his memories.

“Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you don’t practice with Phasma. Best Beater I’ve ever seen in action. Saved my ass every game.”

The mere thought of Rey flying full speed towards a Bludger to get Dameron off her tail still sent shivers down Ben’s spine.

“You were reckless.” 

“Oh, and you were the most careful, collected Seeker Ravenclaw has ever seen.”

“Shut up.”

“You shut up. And I asked you a question.”

“What?”

“Phasma,” she insisted, raising an eyebrow. “Quidditch.”

“Oh,” he answered, running his fingers through his hair. His nervous tic. “No, we don’t really talk anymore.”

Rey cocked her head, her forehead wrinkled in confusion and something he couldn’t name twinkling in her eyes.

“Oh. Bad breakup?”

“Excuse me?”

“Is that why you don’t talk anymore? Bad breakup? You used to be inseparable.”

Ben narrowed his eyes, his brain struggling to process her words.

“We were good friends, yeah. But never… _like that_. And we’re just super busy now, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Rey murmured again, furrowing her brows as she looked out the window. “I thought you were a thing. I mean, everyone did.”

“Everyone who?”

She shrugged, her eyes still fixed on the pink dusk unfurling over the fields.

“Everyone. Some girls even asked her. Fifth year. Baz had a crush on you, I think,” she muttered, rolling her eyes as if the idea of anyone having a crush on him was _preposterous. _It kinda was. “So she checked with Phas, you know. Girls' code.”

“And she said we were just friends, right?”

Of course she had. It was the truth. Why would Phas lie about something so silly?

Rey just shrugged noncommittally, still fiddling with her wand.

“No. She actually laughed. Cackled. And then told Baz not to hold her breath because, and I quote, ‘your heart was taken.’ So I just, you know. Assumed.”

Ben averted his eyes, thanking every deity he could think of for the moment he decided to grow out his hair. Ears burning, he swallowed thickly, fiddling with the hem of his robes.

“No idea what she was talking about.”

_“Shit, Ben, you’re so in love with her it’s kinda sad.”_

_“Shut up.” _

_“Sooooo far gone.”_

_“I’m not.” _

_“It’s funny, actually. You should have seen your face today in Potions when –”_

_“Phas.”_

_“I mean, she’s awesome. Good taste. Never seen anyone fly like that.”_

_“I can fly like that,” Ben mumbled, throwing another pebble across the glistening surface of the Great Lake._

_“You know,” Phasma said, throwing him a side smile as she chose a pebble. “I think you two are equals. In every single way.”_

“Maybe she just wanted to mess with Baz, then,” Rey said casually, shrugging. “Anyway, I’ll go ask for an ETA. I told Maz we’d be there around seven.”

“Sure,” Ben answered. “Let me know.”

Rey nodded, clearly avoiding eye contact with him as she got up and opened the door. The strained tone of his own voice was still echoing in his ears when she disappeared into the corridor. 

***

Ben’s legs were aching from the hike by the time they made it to The Three Broomsticks, but the pain was a welcome distraction from Rey’s hair bouncing right in front of him, almost black under the moonlight, and from her hips swaying with each resolute step she took.

“You’re slow,” she said over her shoulder, shoving her hands into the pockets of her robes as she waited for him under the warm light of the front door.

“You walk faster for the same reason you fly faster,” he grunted, setting his briefcase down on the wooden threshold with a dull thud. “You’re the size of a house elf.”

Rey’s mouth fell open in indignation, and he could see her hands ball into fists inside her pockets.

“_Excuse me? _I’m _normal sized_, thank you very much. Not my fault if you’re the size of a _mountain troll_, you –”

“Ben Solo!” Maz cried as soon as she opened the front door, her big glasses reflecting the light above their heads. “Rey Sanders! Forgot old Maz existed, did you?”

“Never,” Rey said, beaming as she leaned down to engulf the tiny woman in a hug.

This smile – the carefree, open, luminous one; the one that oozed genuine love and happiness. Of all the fantasies he had of her, being the recipient of that smile was the one he hid the deepest.

“Benjamin,” Maz cooed, raising her hands towards his face. They barely reached his chest.

“Maz,” he answered, unable to repress a smile as he bent down to accept her hug.

“Long time, no see, boy. How’s your mom? Your dad?”

“Good. Good. Haven’t killed each other yet.”

“Give them time,” Maz whispered, winking up at him as she turned around and held the door open. “C’mon, children, dinner’s served.”

Sure enough, a small table crammed with trays and bowls waited for them in a corner, isolated from the buzzing chatter that filled the room.

“Ohhh, lamb chops!” Rey moaned, closing her eyes in bliss as she sat down. Ben swallowed thickly as he sat across from her.

“And creamy mashed potatoes. Your favourite,” Maz smiled, patting Rey’s thigh gently. “I’ll get your drinks, just a second.”

“We shouldn’t, Maz,” Ben said, trying not to look at Rey as she licked her fingers clean after grabbing a lamb chop with her bare hands. “We have to go in a couple hours.”

“Oh, it’s butterbeer, not firewhiskey.” Maz turned around, waving her hands dismissively as she walked away. “God knows you kids can handle it.”

Across from him, Rey shrugged, helping herself to a generous spoonful of mashed potatoes.

“I could use some butterbeer.”

Ben just sighed in response, starting to fill his own plate.

“We have to be alert.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mad-Eye.”

“_Rey._”

“Will you stop saying my name like that?” she said, putting her fork down angrily.

“Like what?” Ben asked, his brows knitted in confusion.

“Like…” She waved her hands in the air, her eyes roaming up and down his face. “I don’t know, all...” Her hands fell to her lap, and she finally exhaled deeply, picking up her fork again. “Nevermind.”

“No, please, enlighten me! I didn’t know there was a right way to say your fucking –”

“Sorry to interrupt the flirting,” Maz said, setting three mugs of butterbeer on the table. Rey’s snicker cut right through Ben’s chest. “But can someone fill me in? The Ministry people wouldn’t tell me a thing.”

Ben cleared his throat, poking his lamb chop before he put his fork down.

“What did they tell you exactly?” 

“They just asked me if I still had _this_,” she said, taking a textured dark wand from the inner pocket of her robes. It reflected the flickering candles above their heads as she spun it around between her tiny fingers. “And to guard it as if my life depended on it until you two came pick it up. Now, tell me: what are you children planning on doing with _Luke’s wand?_”

“It’s part of our plan,” Rey said, wiping the corners of her mouth on a napkin. “A plan to take them down.”

“Them?” Maz asked, leaning forward and lowering her voice. “As in…”

“Yes. As in.” Ben’s voice felt raspy, so he took a sip from his beer. “You must have heard the rumors.”

“It is true, then.” Maz’s voice sounded strained, but surprisingly strong. “The Loyalists.”

“It is,” Rey whispered, her eyes looking pained as they flickered to Ben’s and then back to Maz’s. “Ben managed to infiltrate the movement a few months ago. He’s been posing as a double agent, feeding them controlled information about the Ministry. Gaining their trust.”

“Heir apparent to Lord Vader,” Ben muttered against the rim of his glass with a sarcastic twitch of his lips. The words tasted like bile in his mouth.

“Exactly.” Rey’s voice sounded soft when she said it. Sympathetic. Almost kind.

“Is it Snoke?” Maz asked, and Ben nodded, putting his glass down and licking his lips.

“Yeah, but I haven’t managed to get to him yet. Snoke’s always surrounded. Their headquarters are heavily guarded. We’d need the entire Auror Department in there.”

“Child, you and Rey are powerful, but you’re not the entire Auror Department.”

“No,” Rey murmured, shaking her head. “But we can get them in there. If we can lift the Anti-Apparition Charm.”

“If you can…” Maz cried, only to be shushed by Ben and Rey.

“If you can _lift the Anti-Apparition Charm_?” she repeated in a scandalized whisper. “These spells have _rules_. They don’t _accept_ to be _lifted_ by just anyone. They…”

“Luckily,” Ben said calmly, his eyes locked with Maz’s. “Rey's not just anyone. She learned _non-verbal transfiguration_ when we were twelve. _Twelve_. If anyone can do it, it’s her.” 

He could feel Rey’s eyes on him, but he didn’t turn to face her.

“We need to stop them, Maz. You remember the war.”

Maz swallowed thickly, leaning back on her chair and nodding almost imperceptibly. “And what’s the plan?”

“They asked for proof of loyalty.” Rey explained, propping her elbows on the table. “Something that will cement Ben’s position as Vader’s heir.”

“And that would be _you_?” Maz asked, raising her brows.

“No. That would be Luke Skywalker,” Ben answered, sipping his beer again.

“You’re…”

Rey nodded, a solemn look on her face. “Taking Polyjuice. And infiltrating their headquarters as Luke.”

“You still don’t know where that stupid boy’s hiding?” Maz whispered, an angry furrow forming between her brows.

“No,” Ben stated simply. “We managed to get a strand of hair from one of his robes, though, so…”

“So I get to be Luke for the day,” Rey completed, smiling reassuringly at Maz.

The woman just shook her head in disbelief, crossing her arms over her chest.

“And how are the other Aurors supposed to know you’ve done it? _If you don’t get yourselves killed first?_”

Rey smiled wide at that, fishing a golden galleon out of her pocket and rolling it across her knuckles. It made Maz snicker.

“An enchanted galleon? How very old-school of you.”

“It’s effective,” Ben said, watching the coin glisten in Rey’s hand. “Was effective during the war, wasn’t it?”

Maz sighed heavily, offering him a resigned shrug.

“You’re insanely brave and insanely foolish, children.” 

“Thanks,” Rey said over the rim of her glass, and Ben couldn’t help throwing her a side smile.

“Are you Apparating from here?” Maz asked, her lips still pursed disapprovingly. Ben nodded in response.

“Yeah, we have to. The meeting’s tonight.”

“Well,” the tiny woman said, downing the rest of her beer before she stood up. “If anything goes wrong, you Apparate back here. The protective charms the Resistance cast during the war are still on. It should make it harder for them to follow you.”

With a small smile, she took the wand again, placing it carefully in Rey’s hands. “You take care. Both of you. And, _for the love of Merlin_, tell each other before you go. It will give you strength.”

When Rey’s eyes locked with Ben’s, he saw his own confusion mirrored on her face.

“Tell each other what?” she asked, but Maz was already making her way to a large table in the center of the room.

“Maz? Tell each other what?” Ben called, but she never turned around. 

***

Apparating had always been a deeply unpleasant experience, but Ben had a feeling this weird discomfort in his stomach had very little to do with it. This time, it seemed to be related to the fact that the woman who had monopolized every single one of his sexual fantasies since he’d hit puberty now looked just like his uncle.

“Ugh, I get why you shave,” Rey said in Luke’s voice, scratching her beard. “This is so uncomfortable.

“Keep the hood on,” Ben told her, keeping his jaw locked as they walked down the dimly lit street. In the silence of the night, the sound of their footsteps echoed off the wet cobblestones, which in turn reflected the moonlight in shades of white and pale blue. 

“I wasn’t going to take it off.”

“Good. We’re almost there.”

Ben wrapped one of his hands around Rey’s upper arm, and he knew she’d feel lean and firm around his fingers had she been in her own body.

“You don’t need to manhandle me.”

“You’re a prisoner, _uncle Luke_.”

“I’m under the Imperius Curse, _Benny Boy_.”

“My uncle doesn’t call me _Benny Boy_,” Ben whispered exasperatedly, and Rey shrugged.

“Missed opportunity.” 

Exhaling deeply, Ben stopped walking, tugging at Rey’s arms to make her stop, too.

“Rey…”

“What now?”

“Look at me for a second.”

She stopped a step ahead of him, her eyes flickering down to his hand on her arm before she took a step towards him.

“Listen.” Ben almost growled in frustration when his eyes met sky blue instead of hazel-green. “These people, they’re… They’re going to say things that…”

“Ben,” Rey murmured kindly, offering him a small smile. “I’m a muggleborn Slytherin. I think I’ve heard it all.”

Her hand squeezed his forearm before she smiled again. “And I’m a trained Auror. I’m not going to blow the mission if someone drops de M bomb.”

“I’m not worried about you blowing anything. I just…”

“Hey,” she whispered. “We’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

Inhaling deeply, Ben nodded, resuming their march down the street. When they reached the seventh lamp post, he squeezed her arm reassuringly, guiding her to the middle of the street and grabbing his wand from his belt. Crouching down, he examined the intricate pattern of the iron manhole cover, tapping his wand three times on square-shaped indentations. As he stood up and put his wand away, the shiny cobblestones before them trembled and slid in all different directions, slowly sinking into the asphalt to form a stairwell leading downwards into the ground.

“Walls up,” he whispered before taking a step forward. “Legilimency’s his forte.”

The world grew darker around them as they made their way down the stairs, finally reaching a large round atrium. Its stone walls were tinged orange by the torches that hung from them, but Ben didn’t look around as he crossed the room in resolute steps, walking towards a large iron door.

“It’s Kylo Ren,” he said sternly, coaxing his face into a neutral expression. “And Luke Skywalker.”

At his words, the leafy iron pattern of the door started to move, causing a deep rumble to echo off the damp stone walls, and three locks clicked open consecutively.

Without looking at Rey, Ben stepped forward, opening the door and stepping into a maze of cold corridors he’d come to know all too well. With a gentle hold on her arm, he guided her through long hallways, finally stepping into a deep nook on the wall and tapping his wand to a familiar raised brick. The walls roared around them as the ground sank, dragging them into the depths of Snoke’s lair.

As they descended, Ben felt a nudge on the back of his mind – a bright, familiar presence inviting him over; giving him permission to visit her mind.

Legilimency had always come easy with her.

“We’ll be fine,” her mind whispered into their bond, and he felt it more than he heard it. In his peripheral vision, he could see her looking blankly ahead, so he didn’t turn to make eye contact, limiting his answer to an annoyed wave of disapproval.

“I said walls up.”

“They’re up,” she whispered back, and this time he could almost see the shape of the words inside his brain. “They’re always up, aren’t they?”

And there was _something_ – something in the way her thoughts felt inside of him; something in the deep sorrow her mind seemed to accidentally pour into his – that made him want to _show her_. Show her how he’d felt the first time he’d seen her eyes; show her how his stomach had fluttered the first time he’d seen her fly; show her how his heart had raced every time their shoulders had ever brushed midair, the wind howling in their ears; show her the thorough, cherished inventory he kept of every single time he’d ever seen her smile. 

For some reason, he wanted her to see it all before they stepped into that room, but her presence was gone before he could make sense of this urge.

And then she put her walls back up, just like he’d asked her to do.

The elevator came to a stop with a jolt, the sound of crushing stone resounding ominously as an enormous room appeared before them.

Thick blood-red curtains hung from the walls, making only a few glimpses of humid stone visible. They also hung from the tall pillars that lined each side of the chamber, forming nooks and crevices filled with luxurious red couches and ottomans.

Across the room, flanked by two dementors, a tall, disfigured man clad in golden stood up from a throne-looking chair, opening his arms wide.

“Kylo Ren,” he said in his bloodcurdling voice, and Ben did his best to repress the chill that licked his spine.

“Lord Snoke,” Ben replied, bowing before he moved forward, guiding Rey towards the man.

“Watch and learn, boys. Watch and learn. This is what loyalty looks like.”

Snoke’s voice echoed off the walls, and every pair of eyes in the room seemed to rest on them. There must have been around eight Loyalists – Snoke’s trusted inner circle. Every day before going to sleep, Ben indulged in fantasies of seeing every single one of them rotting in Azkaban. 

“Was it hard, boy? Finding him? Subduing him?”

“Of course,” Ben answered, and Snoke smiled a mutilated smile, drawing closer.

“Tell him to take off the hood.”

Rey didn’t budge until Ben gave her the order in the deepest, most commanding tone he could muster.

“Take off the hood.”

As the flickering torches illuminated Luke Skywalker’s face, murmurs spread around the room like wildfire.

“Good. Very, very good.”

Rey’s eyes were fixed on Snoke, weirdly out of focus, and the look on her face made Ben bite the insides of his cheeks to repress a smile.

She could easily pass for someone under the Imperius Curse, but Ben knew what this face really meant. He’d seen it more times than he could count; he’d seen it every time she’d jinxed him without saying a single word as he walked down the hall.

Non-verbal spells. Her area of expertise.

He made a conscious effort not to look at her hands as she pinned them submissively behind her back, under her cloak, so as not to call attention to the fact that her fingers were most certainly wrapped around her wand and holding a shiny galleon. 

As if on cue, Snoke’s repulsive smile turned back to Ben.

“Skywalker’s wand?”

“Here,” Ben answered, retrieving it from the inner pocket of his robes.

The man’s grin widened as he wrapped his long, pale fingers around black walnut.

“Very, very good,” he said, turning around and raising the wand in the air. “Luke Skywalker’s wand,” he announced before turning back around and handing the wand back to Ben.

“And now, my faithful apprentice, heir apparent to Lord Vader… Fulfill your destiny.”

The implications of his words became obvious as he stepped back, gesturing towards Rey.

“Show the world how _weak_ their hero really is. How _insignificant_, how _dispensable_ wizards become once they develop a fondness for mudbloods.” 

Ben clenched his jaw, his knuckles going white around Luke’s wand. Squaring his shoulders, he took a step forward, turning to face Rey.

Blue eyes pierced into his, asking him for another moment.

_Almost there_, something whispered deep inside of him. _I’m almost there_.

“Luke Skywalker,” Ben said loudly enough for his voice to fill the entire room, turning around to face the Loyalists. “Lord Vader’s own blood, corrupted by ideas of mudblood worthiness. Responsible for his own father’s fall. For my grandfather’s fall. _A traitor!_”

“_Traitor!_” the room chanted in unison, and Ben swallowed.

“But I will finish what my grandfather started. I will claim what’s rightfully ours: a golden age of wizardry, untainted by impure blood. A reign of _real_ wizards and witches, working together to reclaim our rightful place. _Power!_”

“_Power!_” the Loyalists cried in response, and Ben breathed heavily, turning back around.

For a millisecond, something flickered in Rey’s eyes, and he understood.

“It’s time to rid the world of this scum,” he said, and she nodded almost imperceptibly.

_Now, _a warm tendril of light told him, tugging at the back of his mind, and he turned around in one swift movement, a bright flash of red making Snoke’s wand fly towards him.

It felt as if the world had been muted when he pressed his back to Rey’s, feeling her shoulders work frantically as they moved in synchrony, shooting spells across the room. He saw Snoke’s mouth move furiously, pointing at them, backing away and asking for a wand. He saw green curses cut the air left and right, hitting walls, slicing curtains, nearly missing his head when he failed to block one of them.

And then sound came whooshing back to his ears, his entire world zeroing in on Rey as her voice cried inside his head.

_We need shelter. We need to buy time. Where are they? _it said, and he pursed his lips, casting stupefying spells as they moved sideways towards the side of the room.

Glistening beads of sweat were rolling down Rey’s temple when he pinned her behind a pillar, shielding her from a Death Curse.

“Did you use the galleon?” he yelled.

“Yes!” she answered, her breathing shallow and pained. “What’s taking them so long?”

“You’re sure you lifted the spell?”

“Fuck Ben, YES!”

“Well, fuck me!” he screamed, dodging a milky white spell as it flew past his head.

Rey’s eyes were blazing, her face set in a determined expression he knew all too well.

“We can hold them a little longer!”

“No, Rey, we have to –”

But she was already gone, launching herself into battle once more. A torrent of complex spells flashed from the tip of her wand with each elegant flick and twirl of her wrist; her footwork a poised yet violent ballet performed in the middle of chaos.

He could have watched her fight for days, hadn’t a storm of spells been wheezing past his head, so he launched himself after her, his style heavier and more aggressive, sending bodies flying towards the wall left and right.

In the whirlwind of flashing lights and yelled incantations, he caught a glimpse of gold leaning over an unconscious body, apparently looking for a wand.

“_Bombarda Maxima!_” Ben yelled, pointing at a nearby pillar.

It crumbled slowly and with a deafening roar that made the ground shake under his feet, its collapse shrouding the chamber in dust and smoke.

Grime and dust clung to his skin and hair as he watched a heavy rock fall, trapping both Snoke and a handful of his followers in the far corner of the room.

His triumphant gaze only lingered there for a second, but it was a second too long. When he turned around to search for Rey amid the clouds of dust, a flash of white light cut through the dark gray haze, causing a hot, searing pain to explode in his ribcage.

“Ben!” he heard Rey yell, but he couldn’t see her. “BEN!”

He must have screamed. He wouldn’t be able to tell. All he knew was he was on the ground now, crimson red blood gushing between his fingers, mixing with soot and dust as he tried to stanch the open wound on his torso.

“BEN!”

His trembling hand managed to find his wand on the floor, right next to his hip, and to cast a feeble Shield Charm around himself as he tried harder to apply pressure on the wound.

“BEN! NO! BEN!”

He could see her now, dancing and twirling against three men at the same time, the elegance and fury of her dueling style looking so foreign in Luke’s body. 

As his vision blurred around the edges, he thought he wouldn’t really mind it if the last thing he saw before he died was her fighting.

If this was death, it was particularly unpleasant, though. It grew colder and damper by the second, the air around him becoming gelid as the protective dome flickered around him, eventually disappearing altogether.

It felt hopeless, too.

He tried to think of any happy thoughts he had – any memories of his father teaching him how to fly, his mother holding him at night, Rey flashing him triumphant smiles over her shoulder as she held the Golden Snitch over her head, showing it off to the roaring crowd.

All his happiest memories seemed to have been drained of any happiness, though, and all of a sudden he was afraid of death.

And that’s when he saw them.

The two cloaked figures glided through the milky clouds of dust that flashed with shooting spells, drawing closer to him with each second that went by, bringing cold and dread along with them.

“BEN! THE DEMENTORS, THEY…. BEN!”

No. Not this. He’d gladly bleed to death on the grimy floor of Snoke’s lair, but his soul would be his to keep. He could barely feel his fingers as they wrapped around his wand and pointed it to the two blurry, putrid-smelling silhouettes.

_The white ceiling of the hospital wing looked blinding when he blinked against it, his eyelids feeling as if they were made of lead. _

_“Ben?” _

_Was he dead? Was this heaven? Did angels have Rey’s voice? _

_“Ben, are you awake? Oh my God, Ben.”_

_Every single fiber in his body ached when he turned his head in her direction, her face going in and out of focus in the dim morning light. _

_“What…” he rasped, but it hurt too much, so he winced instead. _

_“No, no, don’t… don’t talk. Don’t talk. You fell off your broom. I’m sorry Ben, I’m so sorry, I got in your way when you were right in the middle of a Wronski Feint and you… You just…” _

_Her eyes were in focus, now, and Ben could see they were red rimmed and swollen, dark circles looking like bruises against her golden skin. _

_“I’ve been staying here, waiting for you to… I brought you a chocolate frog. I mean, I know it isn’t much, but… God, Ben, I’m so sorry.”_

_When she brushed a strand of damp hair away from his face, her fingers grazed his forehead, sending shivers down his aching body. _

_“Are you in pain? Shit, that’s so stupid, of course you’re in pain.”_

_“I think I’ll live,” he groaned, wetting his chapped lips, the ghost of her touch still lingering on his skin. _

_“Please do,” she whispered, a tear trailing down her cheek. “I don’t think I ever want to play Quidditch again if I’m not playing against you.”_

“_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_”

His front legs slid from the tip of Ben’s wand first, shortly followed by his head, then his body, then his hind hooves. The silvery thestral opened his wings elegantly, flapping them before he marched towards the dementors, diluting the dark dust that filled the chamber in a milky, glistening mist. 

The gleam of his patronus illuminating Rey’s face was the last thing he saw before a series of loud cracks indicated several people had just Apparated into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments literally make my day, so pleeeese let me know what you think? *puppy eyes*  
I'm currently editing the second/final chapter and it will be up tomorrow! Love your faces <3


	2. Nox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry, guys! Better late than never, though, right?

_The afternoon sun filtered through the windows of the Great Hall, casting long shadows on the stone floor. It also made Rey’s hair shine, falling casually over her shoulders, the green Head Girl badge on her chest catching the light and making it bounce back in a thousand different directions. Ben’s eyes were fixed on her face, though – on the triumphant smile that illuminated her features as she watched a magnificent silvery thestral prance around her, enveloping her in a haze of glistening mist. _

_“Beautiful, Ms. Sanders!! Simply stunning – such a strong, corporeal Patronus at this age, it’s truly impressive. Even for N.E.W.T.s level, this is....”_

_The old examiner babbled enthusiastically, her quill squeaking against a long piece of parchment as Rey’s Patronus kept prancing and flapping its wide wings._

_ “She is beautiful, isn’t she?” Rey grinned, reaching out towards the thestral’s bony head as if ready to stroke it lovingly. _

_“Mr. Solo?” Ben’s own examiner called, and he snapped his head back to the small table in front of him. _

_“I’m sorry.” _

_“It’s quite alright, boy. That is a beautiful Patronus. But would you mind showing me yours, now?”_

_“Mine?”_

_“Your Patronus.”_

_The old man’s eyes were kind as they inspected Ben over the golden frame of his glasses._

_“S-sure.”_

_In his peripheral vision, Ben could see the thestral start to dissipate, spreading tendrils of silver under the early afternoon sun. Locking his jaw, he emptied his head, focusing on the memories that haunted him in the middle of the night. _

_His parents' screaming matches crawling into his bedroom through the gap under the door. Uncle Luke’s disappointed eyes as Ben failed to turn a kettle into a duck when he was nine. Rey making out with a random Gryffindor in the Prefects’ bathroom two weeks after their O.W.L.s. _

_“Expecto Patronum!” _

_Feeble wisps of milky silver mist floated out of the tip of his wand, but nothing more. Behind the table, the examiner lowered his glasses, making a clear effort not to look disappointed. _

_“That’s quite alright, boy. Quite alright. You’ve showed me more than enough powerful magic today.”_

_Of their own accord, his eyes strayed to Rey’s face, which was still illuminated by the last traces of her dissipating Patronus. For a millisecond, she looked shocked. It didn’t last long, as her stunned frown was soon replaced by a shit-eating grin. _

Ben felt the delicate touch of careful fingers on his ribcage before he’d even opened his eyes. A dream, most definitely. A delicious dream.

He moaned low in his throat, reveling in the warmth and softness against his skin.

“Ben?”

Rey. Another dream of Rey. How fitting.

“Ben? Are you awake?”

When his eyelids fluttered open, all he could see was a dark silhouette against white, blinding light.

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you? It’s just Essence of Dittany. To keep it from scarring too bad.”

“_Rey._” His voice felt gravelly and raspy, scratching his throat on its way out. “What… where…”

When Rey finally came into focus, her red-rimmed, swollen, exhausted looking eyes were the first thing he saw. It felt like déjà vu.

“I couldn’t remember the counter-curse, Ben. I blanked. It was my fault, I… You lost _so much blood._” Her voice broke as she said it, and she swallowed thickly, her lower lip quivering. “But then I Apparated with you back to Maz’s, and she knew it. She said Sectumsempra was a popular curse during the war. And then we brought you back here, but you were so weak and… And the wound had been so…”

“Is this… Hogwarts?”

His voice felt slightly more firm as his eyes roamed around the room, taking in every familiar detail of the Hospital Wing.

“It was closer than St. Mungos, and I was afraid if I tried to Apparate again you might…”

Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, and she dried them hastily, her eyes darting back to his wounded side.

“Did it hurt? The Essence of Dittany? ‘Cause I can…”

“No,” he said a little too hurriedly to sound casual. “No, it’s… It was fine.”

“Oh,” she mouthed, nodding and wetting her lips. “Can I… Continue, then?”

The sight of her slender, delicate fingers hovering a few inches above his skin made him unable to produce any sound, so he just nodded, wetting his chapped lips. 

Offering him a small smile, she turned her attention back to his injury, applying a few drops of the thick essence over the red, angry-looking scar and slowly massaging them into his skin. The gentle, small circles she drew with her fingers seemed to seep into his flesh, making his entire body tingle, his skin going hot and tight under the white sheets draped over his lower body.

“Madam Pomfrey thought it would be better to leave you shirtless for now, to let the wound breathe. I can get you a shirt though. If it makes you feel more…”

Her voice sounded slightly hoarse as she spoke, her glistening eyes fixed on his damaged skin.

“No,” Ben rasped, unable to tear his eyes away from her. “No, that’s… It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Rey just nodded in response, working diligently and in absolute silence for a long moment. When she spoke again, the feigned casualness in her voice stuck out like a mountain troll in a ballet concert.

“Snoke was killed. In the duel, after the other Aurors arrived. And we managed to get most of the Loyalist. Some of them Disapparated as soon as they realized they could, but it’s only a matter of time until they –”

“Rey,” Ben said tiredly, his eyes drowsy as they roamed her face. “What are you doing here? None of this was your fault. You’re clearly tired. I’m clearly going to live. Why don’t you just go home?”

Rey’s eyes flickered up to his for a millisecond, but it was enough for him to see her façade crumbling. When they darted back towards his injury, they looked tortured and tired. 

The words that left her lips were barely louder than a murmur.

“They’re fascinating, aren’t they?”

Still trying to decipher the look in her eyes, Ben didn’t register the question right away.

“Who?”

“Thestrals,” she answered simply, never tearing her eyes away from his injury. “Fascinating creatures.”

In a whoosh of sound and smell and colors, it all came rushing back to him.

Smoke. Dust. Screams. Hot, crimson red blood. A silvery thestral galloping elegantly through the chaos.

His mouth felt too dry to answer.

She didn’t seem to mind his silence, because she just reached for the amber flask and applied a few more drops to his skin.

“All that darkness,” she murmured, resuming the movement of her fingers. “That inherent darkness they can’t shake off. It’s in their nature. In their flesh. It’s the first thing people see when they look at them. The only thing they see, most of the time.”

There were tears glistening in her eyes now, but she didn’t raise them.

“But there’s also this kindness. This underlying, deep-seated kindness that’s _so easy to see _once you start looking close enough. It lives within their darkness – this gentleness, this tenderness people choose to ignore because they’re scared of getting too close.”

When her eyes finally searched for his, the tears that had been pooling in them trickled down her cheeks, painting thin pale tracks onto her golden skin.

“They’re extremely rare Patronuses. Thestrals.” 

He held her gaze as she stepped closer, setting the amber flask back on the nightstand.

“You could cast a corporeal Patronus in your sleep when we took our N.E.W.Ts, couldn’t you?” She straightened her spine as she said it, letting out a long, shuddering breath, and Ben clenched his jaw, swallowing thickly.

What was the use of lying to the brightest witch of their age?

“Yes.”

Rey nodded almost imperceptibly, inhaling deeply as she squared her shoulders.

“But you didn’t cast it on purpose. Because you didn’t want me to see it.”

“Yes.”

“Because you knew what it meant.”

“You know the answer to that, Rey,” Ben said, and it almost sounded like a pleading whisper. _You don’t have to torture me_ went unsaid in the silence that followed.

She held his gaze for a moment, pursing her lips and clenching her jaw before she spoke again.

“When?”

It was an impossibly vague question, but somehow Ben knew what she was asking.

_When did your heart start racing every time someone mentioned my name_, she might as well have said. _When did your stomach start to flutter every time I smiled?_ _When did waking up each morning become a blessing and a curse because my eyes haunted your every dream? _

_When did you fall in love with me?_

“I don’t know,” he answered earnestly, never breaking eye contact. His eyes were stinging now, too. “When I… When I realized it was there, it was like… Like it had always been there.”

She only stared at him in response, her chest rising and falling slowly as a fresh tear escaped the corner of her eye, following the path the other ones had drawn down her cheek.

“Don’t feel sorry for me. Please.”

The words just fell from his mouth, crawling out of some hidden corner of his chest without giving his brain the time to process them. They were honest, though. He’d always thought she’d laugh at him if she ever found out; either laugh at him or feel appalled, doing her best to keep her distance forever. As a teenager, both possibilities had sounded unbearable. As it turned out, he’d just found out that her feeling sorry for him was exponentially worse. 

Still in silence, Rey shook her head, wiping her tears as her mouth opened and closed without emitting any sound. 

And then the door creaked open.

“Ms. Sanders, I asked you to leave _forty minutes ago_. You _can’t stay here_. You’re slowing down the healing process by… Is he awake?”

Madam Pomfrey walked towards the bed in long, efficient strides, expertly moving to check Ben’s vitals. With a deep furrow between her brows, she turned around to look at Rey.

“Now you really have to leave. Please. I need to examine him. You can visit in the morning.”

“Of course,” Rey murmured, wiping her cheek again. “Sure, I’ll… I’ll see you later, okay?”

Ben nodded, trying to ignore the icy, heavy weight lodged in his stomach and the burning lump in his throat.

He kept his eyes fixed on his wound as the slightly metallic sound of Rey’s footsteps slowly disappeared in the distance.

***

He made sure he wouldn’t dream of her.

It would happen eventually, of course. When he was back home, back in his bed, fully healed, he’d certainly dream of her, like he always did. His nights would be studded with cocky smiles, hazel-green eyes, bubbly laughs, shiny chocolate-brown hair flowing high above the ground, snaking against the pale blue sky. It was inevitable, but he’d try to avoid it for as long as he could.

That’s why he’d convinced Madame Pomfrey he’d need Sleeping Draught to be able to rest, finally sinking into a deep, dreamless slumber just as the sun started to sink into the horizon outside the large windows behind his bed.

Or at least it was _supposed _ to be a dreamless slumber. Someone must have forgotten to add some key ingredient to the potion, though, maybe asphodel or valerian, because he was sure he could hear her voice whispering softly next to him, sweet and warm.

“Ben?”

He didn’t open his eyes, cursing the incompetent soul that had brewed something as simple as Sleeping Draught with the dexterity of a second-year student.

“Ben?” she murmured again, and now the sound of her voice was accompanied by a feather-light touch on his shoulder, tentative and warm, her fingertips feeling impossibly small against his tense muscles.

When he opened his eyes, Rey was leaning over his bed, her delicate features tinged blue by the moonlight that streamed in through the windows.

“You awake?”

“Yeah,” he drawled, pushing up on his elbows to adjust his position in bed. “What are you doing here?”

The sheets slid down his torso as he moved, and Rey’s eyes darted downwards for a split second before locking with his again.

“I brought you chocolate frogs.”

Ben blinked, rubbing his eyes as he turned his head to the nightstand. The purple packaging of the chocolate looked black in the dark, but the golden filigree shone under the moonlight.

“What… what time is it?”

“Around two? Dunno, couldn’t sleep. And I know you like chocolate frogs, so I –”

“Rey,” Ben murmured, feeling his throat sting. “You’re making it worse.”

She stared at him for a long moment, chewing on her bottom lip, and he inhaled deeply before proceeding.

“I told you not to feel sorry for me. Can you just pretend… I mean, this hurts more than –”

“I cried myself to sleep,” she whispered, and he could see the tears in her eyes even in the half-light.

“You just told me you couldn’t sleep.”

“No, not…” She shook her head, sitting down on the bed by his side, her torso turned to face him. Despite his rational mind’s vehement protest, he scooted to the side to make room for her. “Not today. The day Phasma told Bazine you were taken. I cried myself to sleep.”

A long, seemingly endless stretch of silence followed her words, Ben’s breathing sounding exceptionally loud in the quiet infirmary. Outside the window, an owl flew by, flapping its wings loudly and hooting into the night.

“It was a week before our O.W.L.s, and I was so… so sad, so _heartbroken_ I thought I was going to fail them.” She smiled sadly, leaning forward almost imperceptibly. “I think that was the moment I realized.”

“Realized what?” he asked, his voice thick and raspy.

“That it was there,” she answered, smiling as she leaned in. “That it had always been there.”

Trembling ever so slightly, Rey ran her fingers through his hair before she cupped his face, letting her other hand rest on his chest.

His lips must have felt rough and chapped when she pressed hers to them, but she didn’t complain. Weaving her fingers through his hair, she sighed against his mouth, and he moaned low in his throat, sitting up without breaking the kiss.

His left hand cupped her face gently as he worked his lips over hers, and the right one slid up to her waist, pulling her closer to his chest.

She felt like he’d always dreamed she’d feel. Her lips were delicate and soft, and her tongue felt hot against his when she opened her mouth with another sigh, sending a steady influx of blood rushing to his groin.

Her body also felt like all of his fantasies had predicted it would. Lean and small between his hands, it squirmed and moved as he explored it tentatively, scared that she might vanish into thin air at any second, too precious to be made of flesh and bone.

Her fingernails rose gooseflesh throughout his entire body when she dragged them over his scalp, moaning softly as she arched her back and looped her other arm around his neck. 

“I thought I was going to lose you,” she whispered against his lips, tightening her grip on his hair. He could taste salt on her lips. “I thought I was going to lose you when you weren’t even mine to begin with.”

“I’m yours,” he whispered back, nuzzling her nose as he tightened his grip around her waist. “I’ve always been yours.”

She held his gaze for a heartbeat after he said it, and he could see the tears glimmering in her eyes right before she crashed her lips against his again.

This time, it felt more urgent. Her lips sucked and nibbled at his, hot and bruising, and her hands pulled him further into her, her fingernails leaving imprints on his shoulders.

Ben’s moan resounded through the empty Hospital Wing when she moved to straddle him, her nightshirt riding up her lean thighs as she readjusted herself, finally swaying her hips to grind against his crotch.

Unable to formulate a single rational thought, moved by instinct alone, he stretched his hand towards the nightstand, feeling for his wand in the dark without breaking the kiss. With a flick of his wrist, the curtains around the bed closed with a loud _whoosh, _and he set the wand down again, licking the inside of her mouth with a groan.

“Imperturbable Charm?” she asked with a smile, and he ducked his head down to her neck, planting soft kisses under her jaw.

“Yeah.”

With a small, breathy laugh, she grinded against his hips again, shivering when he slid her fluffy gown down her arms and kissed the exposed skin of her shoulder.

“Ben,” she murmured as he threw the purple robe to the side unceremoniously. “I’ve never…”

His hands froze on her bare thighs as she said it, and he looked up at her wide-eyed, drinking in her swollen lips, flushed cheeks and hooded eyes.

“What?”

“Sex. I’ve never had it,” she explained, carding her slim fingers through his hair as she shrugged.

“Me neither,” Ben breathed, causing the slightly self-conscious look in her eyes to be replaced by a confused furrow between her brows. 

“What?”

He shrugged, drawing circles on her thighs, his ears burning under his hair.

“Never done it. I just thought… it wouldn’t be right, you know? Since I’d be thinking about you the whole time.” He wet his lips, planting the softest of kisses on her chin. “Wishing it was you instead.”

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out of it. It made something clench painfully in his chest.

“We can wait. I can wait, if you don’t –”

She derailed his train of thought by kissing him deeply, pulling his face to hers with both hands tangled in his hair.

“I’ve waited long enough,” she panted in between kisses, grinding feverishly against his erection. “_Years_, Ben. I’m not waiting another second.”

He growled when one of her hands slid down his torso, her fingers burning his skin as they snaked down his abs, finally cupping his erection.

“_God, Rey._”

It was borderline painful, the way his cock throbbed and swelled under her tentative fingers, dampening his pants with precum.

“I looked,” she admitted, smiling as she started to tug his pants down his hips. “When they were changing you out of your robes. Sorry.”

“Unforgiveable,” he mumbled against her skin, bringing one of his hands down from her waist to the space between them and teasing her clit gently through the fabric of her underwear. 

When her wetness coated his fingers, he growled loudly again, sucking her lower lip between his teeth.

“Fuck, Rey. You’re drenched. _For me._” His lips sucked bruises into the skin of her neck when the dipped his head down again, licking and nibbling sloppily. “You’re _so wet_ for me.”

She grinded against his fingers as he spoke, moaning softly right next to his ear, her voice almost drowned out by the plethora of wet clicking sounds that filled the space around them.

Kissing his way back towards her mouth, he pulled her underwear to the side, and she shuddered violently when he dragged his forefinger through her folds.

“Do you touch yourself, sweetheart?”

She nodded as he planted soft pecks on her lips, her arms looped tightly around his shoulders.

“Wanna show me how you like it?”

Rey sank her teeth into her lower lip as she leaned back to look into his eyes.

“I just,” she panted, her eyes heavy with lust as they locked with his. “Just get a finger or two in there and kinda grind against my hand. Pretending it’s you.”

Something hot and territorial unfurled in his chest, and his cock throbbed painfully as he placed a finger at her entrance, pressing upwards softly.

She winced when the tip of his finger slid into her, and he stopped promptly, brushing her hair off her face with his free hand.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, wetting her lips. “They’re just… so much bigger than mine.”

Cupping her face, Ben planted a soft kiss on her cheek, pressing his thumb to her clit while his middle finger remained still inside of her.

“Oh,” Rey moaned softly, starting to sway her hips slowly. “That feels so good, Ben. _So good._”

Her walls fluttered and relaxed around the tip of his finger, and he pushed further gently, burying it in her to the second knuckle. She moaned louder when he increased the pressure on her clit, drawing tight circles around it as her nails dug crescents on his back.

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” she panted, burying her face in the crook of his neck. “Yeah, Ben, it’s… _Shit._”

The rest of his finger slid easily into her as she panted and kissed his shoulder, her breath coming out in short, warm puffs against his skin.

“So pretty. So good. You’re perfect, baby. Perfect.”

He babbled the words into her hair, kissing her scalp as she rode his hand, grinding harder against his fingers each time she swayed her hips.

“Wanna try a second one?” he whispered into her hair, and she nodded enthusiastically, kissing the skin below his ear.

“Let me know if it hurts.”

Rey mewled when his finger slid out of her, coming out coated in her slick, and then gasped when Ben pushed two fingers to her entrance, waiting for her to open up around them. Her walls contracted for a second, squeezing the tip of his fingers, and she dragged her nails across his back, burying her face in his neck again.

“Bad?”

“No,” she panted, breathing heavily. “It stings a little. But it feels… good. It’s good. Don’t stop.”

Ben nodded, cradling her head with his free hand as his thumb resumed its ministrations on her clit, rubbing and flicking until her walls relaxed around him again.

He waited a minute to fully sheathe both fingers inside of her, slowly working his way into her cunt, but when he did she moaned loudly, raising her head to reclaim his lips.

Their mouths clashed furiously as she started riding his hand again, panting and moaning against his lips, glistening beads of sweat trickling down her temples.

“I love you, Rey. I always have.”

The words fell from his lips of their own accord, and for a second his muscles tensed, telling him he’d gone too fast. Too hard. Too soon. Rey, however, reacted differently. She shuddered violently on his lap, muffling a cry on his cheek as her walls clenched and unclenched rapidly, dragging his finger deeper into her.

He did his best to coax every last drop of her orgasm out of her, whispering endearments into her ear and peppering her face with kisses as he curled his fingers inside of her, rubbing slow circles around her clit.

Her chest rose and fell heavily as he brushed her damp hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

“You okay?”

She nodded as she cupped his face, pressing a long, soft kiss to his lips while her thumbs caressed his cheekbones.

“Yeah. But that looks painful.” Her eyes darted downwards as she said it, and he followed them, finding his cock red and angry against his abdomen, his pajama pants pulled midway down his thighs. 

“We don’t have to. Not today,” he whispered, raising her eyes to hers again. “Not if you don’t want to. I can just –”

“I want to,” she murmured in response, starting to undo the buttons of her night shirt. “I want you.”

Her eyes glistened in the half-light, her features cloaked by the darkness in which the closed curtains enveloped them, and it reminded him of the way they’d reflected the orange castle lights all those years ago.

“Right,” he breathed, helping her out of the nightshirt and discarding it next to her robe. His hands wandered to her breasts, rubbing her pebbled nipples gently, and his cock twitched. “But you tell me if you want to stop, okay?”

She nodded again, nuzzling his nose, her warm breath tickling his lips in the dark.

“Can you be on top? Think I’d feel… more comfortable. Safer.”

“Of course,” he answered, grabbing her gently by the waist and lifting her up effortlessly to flip them over.

He laid her down on her back, kneeling between her legs as he pulled her underpants down, finally throwing them towards the pile of discarded clothes. Her bent legs bracketed his hips as he leaned forward, bracing his forearms on either side of her head.

“Like this?”

“Yeah,” she breathed, sliding her right hand down his torso and wrapping it around his throbbing erection.

He hissed when she started pumping her fist up and down, and rested his forehead against hers when she aligned the tip of his cock with her entrance.

“You’re beautiful, sweetheart,” he whispered, sliding one of his hands between them to rub her clit, drunk on the sound of her soft sighs. “So, so beautiful. And bright. And talented. And strong.” He punctuated each adjective with a kiss to her lips, slowly parting her folds with the tip of his cock. “You’ve always been my only fantasy.”

She gasped when his tip slid into her, and her walls squeezed him tight, making him groan. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, asking for permission to enter, and she granted it, kissing him deeply while his fingers worked diligently to rekindle the fire in her core.

When she started to relax around him, he nibbled her lower lip, resting his forehead against hers again.

“You tell me when,” he breathed, and she nodded, wrapping her thighs around his hips.

“A little more,” she said, looping her arms around his neck, and he pushed forward slowly, increasing the pressure on her clit until she winced again.

“Don’t stop,” she panted, her chest heaving. “Don’t stop, I think it’s almost… _Ah!_”

Her walls contracted violently around him for a second, and he resisted the burning urge to keep pushing forward, preparing to pull out when she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Don’t. Stay,” Rey whispered, opening her eyes and brushing his hair back. “I think it… I think it’s okay. I just have to…” She shifted on the mattress, positioning herself more comfortably under his body. “Just kiss me. Please.”

Still massaging her clit, Ben ducked his head down to capture her lips again, moaning into her mouth when she started to move her hips tentatively, trying to take him deeper.

“Shit, Rey. I – _shit!_”

“Is it okay?”

“It’s,” he panted, sucking her lower lip into his mouth. “It’s unbelievable. You feel _unbelievable._”

And she did. Not even his wildest fantasies had been able to predict how warm and velvety she’d feel around him; how pliant her cunt would feel around his cock, fluttering and squeezing him every now and again and making him roll his eyes into his skull; how blinding the pleasure would be as he slid in and out of her tentatively, feeling every inch of her skin that touched his as if his nerve endings had been replaced by live wires.

He groaned and growled into every part of her he could get his mouth on, crazed and frantic, babbling incoherently as she rolled her hips, taking him deeper with each thrust. 

“I love you, Ben,” she murmured into his ear, her hands firmly wrapped around his shoulders. “I always have.”

He had to bury his face in her collarbone to muffle his cry when his balls clenched, the burning, maddening sensation of his orgasm approaching feeling more intense than anything he’d ever achieved on his own.

Ben slipped out of her in one swift movement, kneeling fast and wrapping his left hand around the base of his cock as his other one kept working frantically on her clit. His eyes locked with hers as he stroked himself, watching her mouth fall open in a silent cry as he slipped two fingers into her; curling and twirling them while he pressed the heel of his palm to her hardened, swollen nub.

The sound of her moans and the sight of her face contorted in pleasure finally pushed him over the edge, and he came on her stomach in thick spurts that glistened against her golden skin.

Shuddering as the last of his orgasm rolled through his body, he kept pumping his fingers into her, watching her body twist and squirm in pleasure under his touch.

“You’re so close, sweetheart,” he whispered, hooking his left hand behind her knee and bringing her leg over his shoulder. “I can feel it. You feel so _beautiful_.” He kissed the words into the inside of her knee, sucking the sensitive skin into his mouth when she finally convulsed around his fingers, throwing her head back and fisting her hands in the sheets.

Ben worked her through her orgasm, watching his spend glisten on her skin with a burning sense of fascination. When her eyes darted downwards, staring at her own belly, he kissed her knee again and leaned down to caress her face.

“I’m sorry,” he said, feeling his ears burn. “I assumed you wouldn’t be on contraceptive potions, and I hadn’t asked, so –”

“I’m not,” she whispered, smiling as she reached out to caress his face. “And I kinda like it.”

He brushed his lips against hers as he reached for his wand, kissing her softly.

“You do?”

“Really like it, actually,” she murmured, smiling against his mouth as he cleaned her skin with a quick flick of his wrist.

Still smiling, Rey scooted to the side to make room for him, nestling into his side as soon as he was lying on his back.

“You okay?” Ben asked, kissing her hair as he wrapped his arm around her, his fingers drawing soft circles on her back.

“Perfect,” she breathed sleepily into his neck, resting her hand on his chest. “Kinda hungry, though.”

His husky laugh made her smile against his skin, and he held her closer, flicking his wand again to bring the sheets over their bodies.

“Chocolate frog?”

“Yes, please.”

Ben set his wand back on the nightstand as he reached for a purple box, doing his best to open it with his arms wrapped around Rey.

“I’ll have to go soon,” she whispered, pressing her fingers to his chest as if the idea of parting did to her heart what it did to his.

“Madam Pomfrey won’t be back until five,” he said, biting the chocolate frog before he held it do her mouth. “Stay.”

Her eyes gleamed up at him as he slid the chocolate into her mouth, and she licked his fingers clean, smiling when he moaned involuntarily.

“Okay. But I’ll need you to get your priorities straight and see which card we got.”

His large fingers struggled to get the card out of the box. When they did, he stared at his uncle’s face for a long moment before he burst out laughing.

“What? What’s…”

He could tell the exact moment she saw Luke’s face, because she buried her face in his chest, laughing so hard he could feel warm tears tickling his skin.

When he wrapped his arms tighter around her body, smiling into her hair and watching the moon cast silvery blue shadows on her skin, his mind wandered sleepily to his Patronus. As if she could hear his thoughts, Rey whispered softly into the half-light, her breath caressing his skin: 

"I think I have a new memory to use." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this fic was just an excuse to write a bunch of pointless fluff and smut. Sue me. I hope you had fun, though! I know I did! 
> 
> Love your faces <3


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